Age of Bronze is based on events that happened a long time ago, but it's interesting how this issue in particular and the story events in general have parallels in the modern world. The questions about war, and the difference between those who favor it and those who don't, make for some interesting comparisons between the situation in the United States today and Ancient Greece in the pages of Age of Bronze. Shanower does an excellent job in this issue of showing how fractious and delicate the alliance of Achaens is, and how their first attempt at attacking Troy has damaged the loyalty of their soldiers and generals, but he also shows the effects that the war efforts have had at home. There's a lot going on this issue, a lot of characters to keep track of and developments to watch, but the result, while sometimes confusing, is a sense of the scope of the story and a lot of development of the events relating to it.
While the story unfolds this issue across several different city-states and involving a good dozen or so characters, that doesn't mean there's not some focused development for some of the main characters. Odysseus and Agamemnon in particular get a lot of time in the spotlight, playing largely against each other despite their role as allies. In this issue, through a variety of storytelling both visual and textual, subtle and more overt, Shanower conveys the selfishness and borderline cruelty of Agamemnon. His indifference to Odysseus's wishes to go home, or his hard-hearted response to the kings who won't willingly join his army again, show him as focused on what he wants, with little consideration for others.
By far the most interesting part of the issue for me, however, was the gathering of the armies. Shanower's use of several settings, with captions to indicate a change of scene, is reminiscent of the interrogation scenes that Bendis and Oeming use in Powers to show the various responses over a long period of time using a small portion of the comic. The sense of both objections and rejoicing from the kings brings the complaints we have been hearing reported through Agamemnon's advisors to life, and I'm impressed at how Shanower covers such a wide area and group of characters. While not every name or role really sticks with me, the overall impression is strong, and that's really what those pages are all about.
The final sequence of the issue is a departure from the politics of the first half, a sort of action/hostage sequence that marks a shift in the approach of Agamemnon, and once again shows him getting by largely on luck and on the smarts of his allies. Though the events make a big change in the overall shape of the Achaen offensive against Troy, their main role in this issue seemed to be to show that Agamemnon is almost entirely unsuited to rule, selfish and angry and not all that bright.
Age of Bronze fulfills an important role within Image comics and within the industry, showing that serious history can be told in comics form as much as it can in textbooks or classes. It also happens to contain strong drama, interesting characters and terrific artwork.
